Deya Arrest Request Any Time Now

Thursday September 16, 2004

Kenya is expected to sign an international warrant for the arrest of Archbishop Gilbert Deya this week.

Mr Deya’s bank accounts could also be frozen today after the Charities Commission probing his ministry, which was registered as a charity in 1996, gave him an October deadline to answer the child-smuggling allegations.

According to Scottish Daily Record, a spokesman of the commission said they had written twice to the trustees of the ministry after concerns over allegations of baby trafficking, “but so far they have not responded”.

Commenting on the warrant, Mr Deya’s lawyer Aamar Anwar said the defence team expected attorney general Amos Wako to sign the document before the end of the week.

Efforts to get a comment from the AG were fruitless. He was said to be in a meeting.

In the meantime Deya’s defence team are preparing to challenge extradition requests in the British courts after the minister bitterly complained about the treatment of his family members by police in Kenya.

Mr Anwar told a UK paper, Scottish Daily Record, that his client believed he would not get a fair trial in Kenya.